A suicide bomber detonated his vest outside a courthouse in Peshawar, killing 11 in the latest attack in the northwestern city.

The bomber detonated his vest at the gates of a courthouse in the capital of the Northwest Frontier Province after security prevented him from entering the compound. Two policemen and three lawyers were among the 11 killed. The attack also wounded 47 people, two of them critically.

The Taliban conducted a similar suicide attack outside a court complex in Peshawar on Nov. 19. The suicide bomber killed 19 people and wounded scores more after detonating outside the provincial court complex.

Today’s attack is the latest in the Taliban’s terror campaign in Pakistan. The Taliban launched the offensive on Oct. 5 and have demanded that the military end operations in the tribal areas. The military went on the offensive in South Waziristan on Oct. 17, and recently claimed that the Taliban’s defeat there struck a strategic blow to the organization. But the Taliban have regrouped in the tribal areas and continued the attacks.

The Taliban have launched suicide attacks in Pakistan’s major cities, including the capital of Islamabad, the military garrison city of Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Peshawar.

Taliban suicide assault teams have also targeted military installations in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Peshawar. The Army General Headquarters was shut down for a day during an assault, while police and intelligence services centers in Lahore and Peshawar were also targeted.

The latest such attack, on Dec. 6, targeted a mosque attended by military officers in Rawalpindi. Two generals and four other officers were among the 40 Pakistanis killed. The sons and fathers of senior officers were also killed in the attack.

The Taliban have also conducted a campaign against tribal leaders who have organized militias to oppose the spread of the Islamist terrorists. Dozens of tribal leaders have been killed in suicide attacks, roadside bombings, and shootings. In the past week alone, seven anti-Taliban tribal leaders have been reported killed.

Major Taliban attacks in Pakistan since Oct. 5:

Dec. 7, 2009: Two suicide bombers detonated their vests near-simultaneously about 100 feet apart in the middle of the Moon Market, a commercial hub in the eastern city of Lahore. More than 45 people were killed.

Oct. 15, 2009: A suicide bomber rammed a car into a police station in Kohat, killing 11 people, including policemen and children.

Oct. 12, 2009: A suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives as a military convoy passed through a checkpoint in a market in Alpuri in Shangla. The attack killed 41 people, including six security personnel.

Oct. 10, 2009: An assault team attacked the Army General Headquarters and took 42 security personnel captive. Eleven soldiers were killed, including a brigadier general and a lieutenant colonel, along with nine members of the assault team; and 39 hostages were freed.

Oct. 9, 2009: A suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives in a bazaar in Peshawar, killing 49 civilians.

Oct. 5, 2009: A suicide bomber entered the World Food Program office in Islamabad and detonated his vest, killing five UN workers, including an Iraqi.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of The Long War Journal.

1 Comment

All those attacks had confirmed how deeply inside Pakistan the terror is nested, besides the invality of the saying… ” If you let them live at the border’s provinces in their Taliban’s way, they won’t be bothering us”
Just remainding the firth months of the new gov…
Don’t stop! Now; keep on pushing them.
If you do, Benazir Butto’s death had has in vain.